Judge Accepts BP Plea Deal

U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance of New Orleans approved a plea deal in which BP agreed to pay $4 billion to resolve criminal charges regarding the 2010 Gulf Coast oil spill, despite emotional testimony and letters from dozens of people who objected to the deal. The guilty plea includes 11 counts of manslaughter for the deaths of several workers. The ABA Journal reports that BP still may face pollution fines of up to $21 billion as litigation continues over whether spilled oil collected in the cleanup efforts should count toward the barrel count used to assess Clean Water Act fines.